Permanent residence Kazakhstan

Foreigners married to a Kazakhstani wanting to settle down in Kazakhstan can apply for a “Permanent Residence” card, valid until the expiry of their passport. In the process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Security Council (NSC, they are also called KNB or Kazakh KGB in popular discourse), and migration police are involved. The foreigners need to apply from the Kazakh embassies or consulates in their country or in consulates/embassies in the nearest other country when there is none.

It’s also possible to apply from inside Kazakhstan if you are already there on a different long-stay visa. The process is similar as the one outlined below, only that you will not hand in documents at the embassy, but at the different ministries directly.

Applying abroad (updated in 2015)

The process will take 2 months to 10 months on average, no definite guarantee, it could take longer, you might be refused. There is little clarity and a lot of confusion due to involvement of multiple agencies in the process. The following documents are required from the applicant who is looking to apply for Permanent Residency in Kazakhstan:

1. Duly filled application form;2. Consent of a national of the Republic of Kazakhstan (inviting party) allowing the foreigner to stay in the flat or house occupied by the inviting party;3. Copies of documents confirming permanent residence of an inviting party in the Republic of Kazakhstan;4. Document confirming an exit permit for permanent residence abroad issued by the competent authority of the state of nationality or permanent residence of an applicant5. Document confirming financial solvency during the period of stay in the Republic of Kazakhstan;6. Statement of good health of an applicant and his/her family members in respect of illnesses mentioned in the list of illnesses, which incidence prohibits the entry of foreigners and stateless persons in the Republic of Kazakhstan;7. Statement of presence (absence) of convictions.

In theory, above 7 documents should be sufficient to get the permanent residence. However, no one gets it right the first time round. There is every chance that the authorities will ask additional documents or above documents in specific formats, with some particular phrase added.

After you submit the documents in the consulates or embassies outside Kazakhstan, the consular will interview you and forward the documents to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) along with his comments and recommendations. MFA will send it to Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and MIA to National Security Council (NSC). The final decision maker is NSC based on your documents and based on the inputs provided by Consul, MFA & MIA. Once the decision is made, NSC forwards it to MIA, MIA to MFA and MFA to Consulates/Embassy from where you applied. Consulate will inform you but in practice, it is suggested to contact Consulate every week or on fortnight basis.

After the decision reaches the Consulate (and it is positive!), you need to apply for J2 Visa (applicable to most of the foreigners) from the consulate which will be valid for 90 days. The moment you land in Kazakhstan, the final leg of application for Permanent Residency Card starts. It will take approximately 40 days. That is the end of getting Permanent Residency in Kazakhstan. Keep in mind that getting J2 Visa is not equivalent to getting Permanent Residency. J2 Visa expires within 90 daysand you must get Permanent Residency Card within those 90 days.

Wishing you all the very best!

I run a small consultancy to advise foreigners on the PR process by charging a small fee. Please feel free to contact me via private message in the forum or my website if you have questions.